Shirakawa-go no Yu

We didn’t stay overnight at the hotel, but we visited the onsen and it was absolutely lovely. The sauna, along with the indoor and outdoor baths, was fantastic. The outdoor baths in particular were breathtaking, with snow-capped mountains as the backdrop, which made the experience feel truly special. One downside was that they only accept cash. It was a bit frustrating, especially since the staff could have been more helpful when we explained we didn’t have physical cash and had to go search for an ATM instead. In that regard, the experience fell short. That said, despite the inconvenience, the onsen itself was well worth the visit a great way to end our day. There's a small tatami area in the main foyer and we used the shiatsu foot massagers for $1-2 yen again a bit of fun and yes they work your feet! Tip - take cash!! The first pic shows the actual building and try e seconds the view from the outside onsen

A small ryokan right next to bus station and entrance of Shirakawago. It is the best location to stay there. However, it is not gussho house but it is a full ryokan with onsen and meals. I stayed in a room with bed, not tatami floor. All rooms are without toilet and bathroom. Drinking water fountain is provided. Two coffee vouchers per day were provided, but not served during or after meal. It is available at front desk. Meals were great.This place is on high price as its location. We pay for convenience and location. There is a small supermarket nearby too but it is close early.They also sell used (but washed and clean) yukata too.Onsen is good, available both indoor and outdoor, as well as sauna.

Note that this is not a traditional gassho-zukuri house, but a purpose-built hotel building.||||1. Location: Very near the bus terminal and good place to start the visit to Shirakawago. Oversees a picturesque river.||||2. Rooms: I stayed in a Western-style room. It was smallish, but that is typical of Japan. It was comfortable. No en-suite toilets though.||||3. Staff: Polite and functional. They had some difficulty communicating in English, but can manage.||||4. Amenities: The set dinner (kaiseki) is not cheap, but it was tasty. Breakfast was also good. They have a hot bath area which was great because I visited in winter. Do note that there is only 1 toilet for each gender and 2 wash basins for all the 10+ rooms on the 2nd floor. This is a tad inconvenient, and might be a point to consider before deciding to book this facility.

I didn’t stay at this onsen-hotel but I did go to the bath while I stayed in Shirakawa-go. The attraction seemed nice and relaxing so we decided to pay to go in. The woman we talked to was not hospitable, cutting off my every sentence and talking to us in a condescending tone. We unfortunately had to pay for towels since we didn’t have any which was 300 yen in addition to the 800 yen bath fee. Inside, the lockers were coin operated which is slightly inconvenient for those without cash. There weren’t any small towels or hair and face towels available which usually are at a hot bath. The shower kept on turning off after a certain amount of time and had to be continuously pushed to maintain steady waterflow. However, the water was clearly full with minerals as instead of clear bath water, it was slightly murky. The view from outside was gorgeous and I loved it. I think that some work on its customer service and a few tweaks here and there, and I would definitely visit this bath house again.

Our family went to the onsen from another accommodation around 7:30 p.m. Some of our family members finished earlier. The sign showed that the onsen’s opening hours were until 9:00 p.m., but the waiting lounge, which had a seating area for onsen customers, was closed before 8:40. As a result, our family members had to stand and wait on the cold stone floor in front of the entrance. This situation took away all the warmth we had gained from the onsen. Have they ever considered that outside customers might need a warm area with seating to wait for their companions?

Just did the day use Onsen. Cost 800 yen of you brought your own towels, cash only at the ticket machine. I'd call this a small Onsen. Though, there is a sauna, cool bath, brown water main inside bath, and a slightly milky exterior bath. No view at night, but nice sounds of water running. Coin locker, basket, and hair dryer. This is all for the men's side. Has a parking lot.

Everything was nice; we loved the dinner and breakfast. Except there was no toilet in the room, and there was no lift in this hotel, so we had to carry the luggage to the second floor.

The hotel is very small but in a great location, walking distance to the old village. However, don't expect a lot from the hotel, apart from the onsen, there are nothing much to do. Our room has no toilets or showers, you will have to go outside to do all your business. No slippers are provided so bring your own if you don't want to be barefeet. Food was not bad and with a lot of small dishes. I found a hair in my dessert at the dinner which I was quite surprise for Japan standard. Anyway I think I booked too latest min so ran out of options and had to pay a bit more than usual.